Chapter Fourteen
Jamie
The late afternoon sun was lazing behind the clouds, intermittently lighting the grass with golden light.
Henry, a little whippet of a six-year-old, sprinted up to the ball and whacked it with all the might his thin legs could muster. “ Hi-yahh !”
The ball trickled out of play, and he high-fived the children closest to him while a young girl with pigtails went to retrieve it.
Jamie clapped her hands together. “Love the enthusiasm, Henry. Try and pick a corner next time.”
On Saturday afternoons, she took the Millton Tykes training, teaching the under-sevens basic football skills. It had been something to fill in her weekends at first, to distract from the move and the voices in her head that liked to remind her how much her dad had messed up her life.
But now she loved Saturday afternoons. Especially on a day like today.
The fine autumn day meant the park was busier than usual. Parents were taking advantage of the dry weather to wear out children and dogs alike, playing frisbee and ball games on the grass. Squeals and laughter blended with the chatter of the birds in the treetops above, and Jamie welcomed it.
The next child in line moved up to take her shot. The ball soared straight into the bottom corner of the tiny net, and she turned to give Jamie a gap-toothed grin.
“Kiara, what a shot! You’re on fire!” Jamie faked hosing her down with a hosepipe, and Kiera shrieked with delight. She moved to the back of the queue, and the group continued to take turns kicking the ball into the empty net.
Jamie’s coaching method was the opposite of her dad’s. She focused on the kids having fun and enjoying themselves. Her dad had worked the Harriers team to the bone, sucking all the fun out of the sport she loved so much—that is, before he got fired, anyway.
But that was a whole other can of worms.
Jamie inhaled, letting the cool air fill her lungs. She only visited the house when her dad wasn’t home, but now the relationship with her mum was difficult, too. Her mum had been calling, asking her to stop by, but Jamie’s anxiety had been flaring up and being around that house would only exacerbate it. She couldn’t help but feel guilty, leaving her mum at home with her dad, but she was the one who’d decided to stay with him; that was her choice.
Taking her dirty washing there had been a last resort; she’d run out of clean underwear and the building’s sock thief made her self-conscious, because what if it was a Harriers’ scheme to embarrass her somehow? Being away from her old team was a relief, but she hated how paranoid it made her.
Jamie just wanted to look to the future, and to let her performance speak for itself. If she was the top scorer in the league for a third time in a row, surely that would get the attention of some clubs after university? Maybe even a scout would attend their games. A lot of people stopped playing after graduation, but Jamie didn’t want that. She’d dreamed about playing in front of a huge crowd, people chanting her name, since she was the same age as the kids she coached now. She was happiest with a ball at her feet—and nothing beat the feeling of scoring a goal.
Except being with Maya…
The memory of Maya’s fingers was enough to make Jamie’s breath catch. But since she’d not responded to Jamie’s follow-up texts, she supposed she needed space. It didn’t seem the right time to bring her own feelings into it and make it about her .
Jamie knew she should keep her distance from Maya. She’d moved to get a fresh start, not to get entangled in more rumours—but she couldn’t help it.
Her stupid heart always outweighed her head, no doubt about it.
Maya’s face flashed before her. That perfect mouth and those deep brown eyes could render even the most stoic woman a pile of ashes. The way she’d completely owned Jamie in between her own four walls. And how Jamie hadn’t minded at all. She should probably be more concerned with how willing she was to give her—
A ball thwacked Jamie in the ribs, dislodging those thoughts completely. Ouch.
A chorus of laughter broke out across the group, with a red-faced boy at the centre of it.
“Sorry, Jamie. I hit the post and then it hit you.”
She exhaled, picking up the sunglasses that had been knocked off her head. “It’s okay, Sammy. Good shot.”
Jamie brought the session to a close, high-fiving all the kids, then making sure they were collected by appropriate caregivers. When the last one had left, running ahead and giggling away, she collected the cones and stuffed the footballs back into their bag.
The swish of the grass caused her to raise her head, expecting one of the kids to have forgotten their water bottle. Instead, she was greeted by a pair of chocolatey-brown eyes.
She almost did a double-take, her heart jumping into her throat .
“Skip. What’re you doing here?” She shifted the sunglasses up her head, and her gaze drifted over Maya’s running Lycra and her toned thighs. Sweet Jesus. “How are you?” she asked.
“I just needed to get out for a bit. I’m okay.” Maya flicked the last ball towards the open bag with her toe, and Jamie caught it. “What’re you doing here?”
Jamie tightened the strings, securing the footballs, and tied a loose knot at the end. She wasn’t sure how much Maya had seen. Had she been watching her? The thought of that made her uncharacteristically nervous. “I take the little ones on a Saturday morning. Some easy drills and games. Stuff like that. It’s pretty fun.”
A smile fought its way onto Maya’s face, her cheeks pink from the cold.
Jamie looked away to stop herself from saying something stupid like you’re so beautiful or— I can’t stop thinking about you or— thank you for making me come so hard the other night. Fancy doing that again sometime?
Get it together, Jaim. She hadn’t expected to see Maya here, and her libido had skyrocketed out of nowhere. So much for her no-dating rule. She scratched the back of her neck, trying to be more neutral. “How’s your grandpa?”
Maya stiffened. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Jamie’s voice softened. “Are you okay, though? I’m worried about you.”
Maya shook her head, turning to watch a Border Collie leap in the air to catch a tennis ball. The dog brought the ball back to its owner, already sprinting off before the woman had a chance to throw it again.
Maya let out a sigh. “You don’t need to worry about me, Jamie.”
Jamie wanted to know where her mind had gone, but she didn’t want to push too hard. She, of all people, knew how it felt to be pushed. Sometimes things were better left alone.
Maya gave her a stern look, making Jamie straighten. She hadn’t realised she was biting her lip.
“I just want you to be normal with me,” Maya said. “Honestly. Be you. Be annoying. Please.”
Jamie chuckled at that, then bent down to swing the bag of balls over her shoulder. “Okay. I’ll be annoying, but only for you, alright?”
Maya’s mouth spread into a lopsided grin, and warmth shot through Jamie’s belly.
“Thank you.”
“Wanna walk?” She gestured towards the car park on the other side of the field.
“Sure.”
She handed her a black bag stuffed with fluorescent bibs and cones, and set off with her across the grass, the sun warming her bare legs.
“So, how long were you creeping on me for?” she asked, a teasing lilt in her voice.
“Only a few minutes. I actually heard you before I saw you. You’re like a foghorn.”
“That’s almost a compliment, coming from you. ”
“Almost.” Their eyes locked, and they grinned, their feet falling into step. Maya’s scent caught on the breeze, pulling dangerous memories from Jamie’s mind: her teasing tongue; the passionate way she’d touched her; how she’d had Jamie at her very mercy.
The feelings swirling around them were intense, surprising, a combination of emotions Jamie didn’t know what to do with. It was the last thing she’d expected when she moved universities. To feel like this. With Maya, of all people.
Was this casual? Just a one-off hook-up out of nowhere? Could they be more?
Jamie had sworn off women after last year, but this with Maya felt…different. Exciting. The captain’s fiery nature and obvious distaste for Jamie had made the foundation of whatever this was interesting.
When she realised Maya hadn’t said anything for a while, she changed the conversation. “Do you do this a lot?”
Maya gave her a funny look. “Do what a lot?”
“Running.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess so. Helps clear my head.”
“That makes sense.” Jamie kicked a clump of dry mown grass. “I like to drive. Put my music on loud and drown everything else out.”
Jamie used to do that a lot when she lived with her parents. She’d hated being in the house but didn’t really have anywhere else to go at that time. Her car had been a safe haven in some ways.
“That sounds pretty nice, actually,” Maya said .
“One time, I just kept driving through the night. I didn’t know where I was going, but I ended up in Whitby, sitting on the beach and watching the waves rolling over the sea. When the sun came back up, I just dusted the sand off and went back home again.”
A moment of quiet passed between them, the sounds of the park filtering back in.
“I don’t know why I told you that,” Jamie said, feeling her cheeks heat. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” They stopped beside her car, and Jamie dumped her bag on the floor to fish her keys from her pocket.
“Did something bad happen?”
“Ha. Yeah, you could say that.” Jamie opened the boot and swung the bags inside. Rehashing everything that had happened last year wouldn’t just be a casual conversation. Jamie didn’t know how Maya would react. The thought of telling her what her dad had done, what everyone said she’d been a part of, made her feel sick. “We can talk about it another time. Maybe…Erm…” She brushed her fingers through her hair, her gaze dropping to the floor. Then her attention caught on Maya’s leg. “Hey, what did you do to your knee? It’s bleeding.”
Maya waved her away, but Jamie dropped to her knees to inspect the graze. She touched the cut, and Maya winced, taking a step back. “It’s fine. I just tripped. It’s nothing.”
The blood was still fresh. Jamie couldn’t hide her frustration at Maya’s flippancy, but she chose to let it go. “ Do you want a ride home?”
Maya nodded, and as they climbed into her car, she caught Jamie checking out her knee again.
“It’s fine,” she insisted.
Jamie held up her palms. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Well, tell your eyes that.”
“Sorry. It just looks sore.” She reached over to open her glovebox and pulled out a pack of plasters. “Here.”
When Maya didn’t move to take them, she sighed, opening the box and pulling one out. She tore it open with her teeth.
“I’m fine—”
Maya flinched when Jamie placed the cute blue dinosaur plaster over her knee. She secured it in place, rubbing either side flush against Maya’s skin.
Suddenly, the air thickened. Jamie kept her eyes lowered a moment, afraid of what she might find in Maya’s gaze. She forced herself to look up, and when their eyes locked, her breath hitched in her chest. A powerful emotion was swirling in Maya’s irises, the one that made Jamie’s throat constrict. Transported back to that night in her bedroom, she swallowed, her stomach doing little somersaults.
That stare should be weaponised. It should be password protected, defended by armed guards, placed under high alert.
The things that stare could make Jamie do.
She reached into the driver’s-side door, needing a distraction. “Starburst? ”
Maya glanced down at the packet of sweets in her hand and cleared her throat.
“Sure.” She fumbled to retrieve a red one from the bag.
Jamie’s mind stalled, confused as to how Maya’s taking a sweet from her and undoing the paper could be filled with such tension. The nimble fingers unwrapping the sweet before placing it in her mouth, and the flick of her tongue.
A wave of arousal shot between Jamie’s legs. Damn. She chewed hard. The blackberry flavour coated the inside of her cheeks, and she was happy to have something else to focus on.
“So…dinosaurs?” Maya asked, admiring the colourful plaster on her knee.
“Sure. Beats the boring ones.”
“I suppose you have a point.”
The engine rumbled to life, and Jamie handed Maya her phone. “Do you wanna pick the music?”
Maya’s eyebrows bounced, and she hesitated a moment. Then she thumbed the screen, browsing the ridiculously long playlists, and chose a song.
“Just Can’t Get Enough” played through the speaker, and Jamie palmed the steering wheel. Memories of Maya, soaked to the bone and tapping her foot, jumped into her mind’s eye. Had that really only been a couple of months ago?
“I knew you liked this one.” She flashed her a smile as she reversed out of the car park .
“Guilty.” Maya tapped her foot to the beat again, watching the clouds drift by the window, while Jamie sang along to the chorus, bobbing her head from side to side. Music really was her happy place. Whenever she heard a beat, she couldn’t stop her body from reacting. And sharing the same air as Maya heightened all of those feelings. It made her giddy, and her moves were all the more exaggerated.
Maya gave a chuckle, the type that started in your tummy and burst out like it had a life of its own. Earning that response from her made Jamie feel like a fucking rock star.
She glanced at her, a smile tugging at her mouth. “I have a suspicion you like my dancing, too.”
“It’s…certainly something.”
“I’m curious about you.”
Maya turned to her, a crease deepening on her forehead. “How so?”
“Curious how you dance. I’ve never seen it.”
Maya blew out a breath that was so exaggerated and silly, Jamie wanted to kiss her. “Well, you’re not about to.”
She slowed to wait at the traffic lights, using her knowledge of Maya’s competitive edge to goad her. “You must be worse than me then. That’s the only logical answer.”
“Not a chance,” Maya shot back, but Jamie caught the way her eyes narrowed.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?”
“You’re pushing your luck,” Maya mumbled, but the infectious smile creeping onto her face said otherwise.
“It is pretty entertaining.”
“Mm-hmm.”
An idea rocketed into Jamie’s head, and she nudged Maya playfully. “Hey, maybe we can make a deal?”
“Oh, god,” she groaned. “Why does that statement fill me with such dread?”
The lights changed to green, and Jamie sped off, forcing Maya back into her seat. She turned the music down and glanced at her, eyes glinting with mischief.
“What is going on in that big, inflated head of yours?”
Maya’s uncertain expression—a mix of confusion and fear—made Jamie belly laugh. When Maya joined in, it only made her laugh harder. When she was around Maya, it felt like all her troubles from last year never happened. Like she was floating on clouds where nothing could touch her. She needed more of that in her life.
“Sorry.” She waved her hand. “I think the sugar is getting to me. It’s not even funny. I’m being deadly serious.”
“Now that makes it sound like a real hoot.”
Jamie snorted, hunching her shoulders, trying to swallow her laughter.
“You’re so weird. Do you know that?” Maya shook her head.
“I know, but all the best people are.”
“And there she is, with her big head again.”
Jamie blew out a breath, mounting the car on the curb outside her house. She’d been driving on autopilot and couldn’t believe they were home already.
“A deal,” she began, spinning to face Maya. “You show me how you dance, and I’ll show you how to drive.”
Maya raised an eyebrow. “ You want to teach me to drive?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“’Cos I think you’ll do whatever you can to beat me and prove me wrong. Right?” Her mouth quirked. “And I think you’ll be both a terrible driver and an awkward dancer.”
Maya squeezed her lips together. Jamie was right; she was very competitive. Losing wasn’t in her nature—look how badly she despised Jamie for beating her.
“I thought you liked driving me around,” she said.
“I do,” Jamie said, a little too quickly. “But this way is more fun. You get something, and I get something and, selfishly, it gives us a reason to spend time together. That’s a very smooth play from me.”
Maya laughed—a real laugh. “As smooth as saying your reasons out loud?”
Jamie nodded, unable to stop the grin from spreading over her face. “Exactly. Very smooth.”
“You don’t even make sense half of the time.”
“I think you like that too. You find my qualities charming. ”
Their eyes met, and when Maya didn’t deny it, a fire fanned in Jamie’s chest. She stuck out her hand. “So, do we have a deal?”